A number of children’s backpacks were found laden with brain-damaging chemicals, according to an environmental group on Sunday.
The EcoWaste Coaliton said these bags and other back-to-school necessities come into sight in Divisoria, the nation’s bargain shopping hub.
The group bought 25 samples of bags for children, costing P50 to P280 each, from bargain stores and sidewalk vendors in Juan Luna St. and Recto Ave. in Divisoria and Rizal Ave. in Sta. Cruz, Manila
Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, EcoWaste researchers screened the samples for lead, a potent brain and nervous system poison, and other chemicals linked to serious health and environmental problems.
In the absence of a specific standard for lead in children’s bags, the group used as reference the 90 parts per million (ppm) limit for lead in consumer paints and surface coatings under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
Out of 25 samples, 23 (92 percent) were found to contain lead up to 5,752 ppm in excess of the 90 ppm threshold. None of the samples had proper product labels.
Acting National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition, Aileen Lucero said that parents should be concerned with toxins in bags that can impair brain development, causing shorter attention span, learning disabilities and decrease in IQ score.
“This is why it is crucial to get rid of childhood lead exposure at its source such as lead-added paints, lead-containing consumer products, and lead-contaminated dust and waste,” Lucero added.
The “Risk Management Strategy for Lead” published by Health Canada in February 2013 said that “research suggests that an incremental increase in blood lead levels of one microgram per deciliter is associated with approximately a one IQ point deficit,” the EcoWaste Coalition pointed out.
Meanwhile, the European Food Safety Authority, US Environmental Protection Authority, World Health Organization (WHO) and other health and science bodies have not identified a safe level of exposure to lead which no adverse health effects can be observed.
Main routes of exposure to lead are through ingestion, inhalation and, in minimal cases, via dermal contact or skin absorption. [PNA]
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